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Lanval
''Lanval'' is one of the Lais of Marie de France. Written in Anglo-Norman, it tells the story of Lanval, a knight at King Arthur's court, who is overlooked by the king, wooed by a fairy lady, given all manner of gifts by her, and subsequently refuses the advances of Queen Guinevere. The plot is complicated by Lanval's promise not to reveal the identity of his mistress, which he breaks when Guinevere accuses him of having "no desire for women". Before Arthur, Guinevere accuses Lanval of shaming her, and Arthur, in an extended judicial scene, demands that he reveal his mistress. Despite the broken promise, the fairy lover eventually appears to justify Lanval, and to take him with her to Avalon. The tale was popular, and was adapted into English as ''Sir Landevale'', ''Sir Launfal'', and ''Sir Lambewell''. Plot Lanval, a knight in King Arthur's court, envied for "his valor, his generosity, his beauty, his prowess", is forgotten from being invited to a banquet where the King distribut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Launfal
''Sir Launfal'' is a 1045-line Middle English romance or Breton lay written by Thomas Chestre dating from the late 14th century. It is based primarily on the 538-line Middle English poem ''Sir Landevale'', which in turn was based on Marie de France's lai '' Lanval'', written in a form of French understood in the courts of both England and France in the 12th century. ''Sir Launfal'' retains the basic story told by Marie and retold in ''Sir Landevale'', augmented with material from an Old French lai ''Graelent'' and a lost romance that possibly featured a giant named Sir Valentyne. This is in line with Thomas Chestre's eclectic way of creating his poetry. In the tale, Sir Launfal is propelled from wealth and status – the steward at King Arthur's court – to being a pauper and a social outcast. He is not even invited to a feast in his home town of Caerleon when the king visits, although Arthur knows nothing of this. Out in the forest alone, he meets with two damsels who tak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graelent
''Graelent'' is an Old French Breton lai, named after Guiomar (Arthurian legend), its protagonist. It is one of the so-called :Anonymous lais, anonymous lais . Synopsis The plot is similar to that of Marie de France's lai of ''Lanval''. Guiomar (Arthurian legend), Graelent, a knight of Brittany, rebuffs amorous advances from the queen, who retaliates by manipulating the king against him. Graelent's wages are suspended, reducing him to poverty. Graelent dejectedly rides into the forest, and while tracking a white hind (''bisse blance'' v. 201; Modern French, Mod. Fr.: '), he stumbles upon a beautiful lady bathing in the fountain, attended by two maidens. Graelent sneaks up and clutches the articles of clothing she has disrobed upon a bush. The lady cries out his name, demanding their return. Graelent does not comply, and bargains for her to emerge from the fountain, and asks for her love. She is at first scornful at the suggestion, but Graelent rapes her, and she then decides to h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guingamor
''Guingamor'' is an anonymous medieval lai about a knight who leaves the court of his uncle, a king, because the queen has sent him off to hunt for a white boar. By offering a reward for the boar's head, she hopes to get rid of the protagonist Guingamor, who has refused her sexual advances. Guingamor crosses a river and passes into a mystical kingdom. Returning with the boar's head after what seems to him like three days, he encounters a common charcoal-maker, who tells him that many years have passed since the king's faithful nephew never returned from a hunt for the white boar. Guingamor's return is triumphant and he is immortalized in a lai. The story was once presumed to have been written by Marie de France Marie de France (fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court o ..., but is now conside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie De France
Marie de France ( fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court of King Henry II of England. Virtually nothing is known of her life; both her given name and its geographical specification come from her manuscripts. However, one written description of her work and popularity from her own era still exists. She is considered by scholars to be the first woman known to write francophone verse. Marie de France wrote in Francien, with some Anglo-Norman influence. She was proficient in Latin, as were most authors and scholars of that era, as well as Middle English and possibly Breton. She is the author of the ''Lais of Marie de France''. She translated Aesop's Fables from Middle English into Anglo-Norman French and wrote ''Espurgatoire seint Partiz'', '' Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick'', based upon a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lais Of Marie De France
The ''lais'' of Marie de France are a series of twelve short narrative Breton lais by the poet Marie de France. They are written in Anglo-Norman and were probably composed in the late 12th century, most likely between 1155-1170. The short, narrative poems generally focus on glorifying the concept of courtly love by the adventures of their main characters. Marie's lais are thought to form the basis for what would eventually become the genre known as the Breton lais. Despite her stature in Anglo-Norman literature and medieval French literature generally, little is known of Marie herself, but it is thought that she was born in France and wrote in England. Literary character Marie de France's lais, told in octosyllables or eight-syllable verse, are notable for their celebration of love, individuality of character, and vividness of description, hallmarks of the emerging literature of the times. Five different manuscripts contain one or more of the lais, but only one, Harley 978, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strengleikar
''Strengleikar'' (English: ''Stringed Instruments'') is a collection of twenty-one Old Norse prose tales based on the Old French '' Lais'' of Marie de France. It is one of the literary works commissioned by King Haakon IV of Norway (r. 1217-1263) for the Norwegian court, and is counted among the Old Norse Chivalric sagas. The collection is anonymous. It has been attributed to Brother Robert, a cleric who adapted several French works into Norse under Haakon, the best known of which is ''Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar'' (a Norse version of the Tristan and Iseult legend), but there is also reason to think that the collection may be a gathering of the work of several different translators. Unlike many medieval translations, the ''Strengleikar'' are generally extremely close in sense to the Old French originals; the text which differs most is ''Milun'', which is abridged to half its original length. Lais and their sources The ''Strengleikar'' comprise: * ''Forræða'' 'prologue' * ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinevere
Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in popular literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a villainous and opportunistic traitor to a fatally flawed but noble and virtuous lady. Many records of the legend also feature the variably recounted story of her abduction and rescue as a major part of the tale. The earliest datable appearance of Guinevere is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical British chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', in which she is seduced by Mordred during his ill-fated rebellion against Arthur. In a later medieval Arthurian romance tradition from France, a prominent story arc is the queen's tragic love affair with her husband's chief knight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Norman Language
Anglo-Norman, also known as Anglo-Norman French ( nrf, Anglo-Normaund) ( French: ), was a dialect of Old Norman French that was used in England and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland during the Anglo-Norman period. When William the Conqueror led the Norman conquest of England in 1066, he, his nobles, and many of his followers from Normandy, but also those from northern and western France, spoke a range of langues d'oïl (northern varieties of Gallo-Romance). One of these was Old Norman, also known as "Old Northern French". Other followers spoke varieties of the Picard language or western registers of general Old French. This amalgam developed into the unique insular dialect now known as Anglo-Norman French, which was commonly used for literary and eventually administrative purposes from the 12th until the 15th century. It is difficult to know much about what was actually spoken, as what is known about the dialect is restricted to what was written, but i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their Viking expansion, overseas settlements and chronologically coincides with the Viking Age, the Christianization of Scandinavia and the consolidation of Scandinavian kingdoms from about the 7th to the 15th centuries. The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century, and Old Norse began to develop into the modern North Germanic languages in the mid-to-late 14th century, ending the language phase known as Old Norse. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century. Old Norse was divided into three dialects: Old West Norse, ''Old West Norse'' or ''Old West Nordic'' (often referred to as ''Old Norse''), Old East Norse, ''Old East Norse'' or ''Old East Nordic'', and ''Ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph (; he, יוֹסֵף, , He shall add; Standard: ''Yōsef'', Tiberian: ''Yōsēp̄''; alternatively: יְהוֹסֵף, lit. 'Yahweh shall add'; Standard: ''Yəhōsef'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōsēp̄''; ar, يوسف, Yūsuf; grc, Ἰωσήφ, Iōsēph) is an important figure in the Bible's Book of Genesis. He was the first of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's twelfth child and eleventh son). He is the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Joseph. His story functions as an explanation for Israel's residence in Egypt. He is the favourite son of the patriarch Jacob, and his jealous brothers sell him into slavery in Egypt, where he eventually ends up incarcerated. After correctly interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh, however, he rises to second-in-command in Egypt and saves Egypt during a famine. Jacob's family travel to Egypt to escape the famine, and it is through him that they are given leave to settle in the Land of Goshen (the eastern part of the Nile Delta). The composi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haakon IV Of Norway
Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair. Haakon was born into the troubled civil war era in Norway, but his reign eventually managed to put an end to the internal conflicts. At the start of his reign, during his minority, Earl Skule Bårdsson served as regent. As a king of the birkebeiner faction, Haakon defeated the uprising of the final bagler royal pretender, Sigurd Ribbung, in 1227. He put a definitive end to the civil war era when he had Skule Bårdsson killed in 1240, a year after he had himself proclaimed king in opposition to Haakon. Haakon thereafter formally appointed his own son as his co-regent. Under Haakon's rule, medieval Norway is considered to have reached its zenith or golden age. His reputation and for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodomy'', which is derived from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis, was commonly restricted to anal sex. Sodomy laws in many countries criminalized the behavior. In the Western world, many of these laws have been overturned or are routinely not enforced. A person who practices sodomy is sometimes referred to as a sodomite. Terminology The term is derived from the Ecclesiastical Latin or "sin of Sodom", which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek word (Sódoma). Genesis (chapters 18–20) tells how God wished to destroy the "sinful" cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two angels are invited by Lot to take refuge with his family for the night. The men of Sodom surround Lot's house and demand that he bring the messengers o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
